irkpatrick's family were from Closeburn, near Dumfries, and claimed Robert the Bruce as a kinsman by marriage. William's father had joined the Company's service at Madras, becoming a Lieut. Colonel and Cavalry officer, and his three sons, William (of the first marriage to Katherine Munro) , James Achilles and Henry, were sent Eton before all three followed their father to India. Two other brothers whom James and Henry met at Eton would do the same: their names were Richard Wellesley, the future Governor General, and Arthur Wellesley, future Duke of Wellington. James Kirkpatrick became Resident at Hyderabad, where he was adopted by the Nizam, and incurred the wrath of the Governor General, Lord Wellesley, for his open marriage to a Muslim noblewoman. The letters between William and his younger half-brother, James, provide a vivid and personal record of life and attitudes of the period.

William Kirkpatrick joined the East India Company as a cadet in 1771 at 17, became Captain in 1781 and Major in 1790. In 1793, he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General, Sir John Shore, and was dispatched as an envoy to Nepal, to mediate between the Nepalese, the Tibetans and the Chinese. In 1795, he was appointed Resident at Hyderabad, and was charged by Richard Wellesley with finding out as much as possible about Tipu , his policies and strategy. This was vital to Wellesley as he planned his strategies in India. During the Fourth Mysore War, Kirkpatrick was seconded to General Harris as his Persian Interpreter, and after the Fall of Seringapatam, was Military Secretary to Lord Mornington. With Henry Wellington, Kirkpatrick was a member of the 5-strong Commission appointed to broker the final settlement. The view of St Thomas's Mount, Madras, in the background, and the inclusion of two Bengal sepoys in the painting is a reminder of Kirkpatrick's significant military responsibilities at this time.

For many years, Kirkpatrick worked to translate some 400 of Tipu's letters, which he eventually published as 'Select Letters of Tippoo Sultan' in 1811. In his own letter to the Governor General (8 August 1799) Kirkpatrick explained 'I shall confine myself for the present time to a review of those papers which have reference only to the transactions of Tippo Sultaun.' Among these was a letter, in Tipu's own handwriting, which includes the following words: 'on the English Island, there was once the Rajah of a tribe called Coosseea, a hundred years ago, the English Rajah put the Rajah of the Coosseeas to death, and took possession of his country.' The footnote reads 'Coosseea seems intended for Ecossais, Scotch; and the Rajah for one of the Kings of Scotland.'

Kirkpatrick's publication was reviewed in the Edinburgh Journal or Critical Review of February 1812. 'The letters of a real sultan may fairly be reckoned among the curiosities of literature,' the reviewer begins, and notes that the letters reveal that Tipu was skilled in all sciences, including medicine - 'although it would be a pretty question to determine whether it required most courage to swallow or to neglect the royal recipe.' He could ignore even the bustle of battle in order to give instructions for care of silkworms, recently acquired; he was interested in geography and chronology, and discusses a recent acquisition, a barometer which 'owing to its oldness it does not move up and down.' The reviewer closes with reference to the 'turbulent spirit of the Sultan,' but acknowledges that 'everything that had relation to him acquired an unusual importance in the minds of our Indian statesmen. His present measures and his future views … sometimes baffled and always exercised their sagacity.' Today, modern re-interpretations of 18th century history tumble after each other, and only a few voices pause to adapt these twentieth century conclusions to their contemporary context of two hundred years ago. In 1812, the Edinburgh reviewer's closing comment must have given many food for thought: 'The tremendous events which, during his reign, convulsed Europe, have probably prevented him(Tipu) from engaging that portion of attention in this country(Britain), which his character, designs and resources, really ought to have secured him.'